August 21, 2017

Bannon vs. Trump: Oh, what a beautiful war

This is the kind of reporting that makes one's day:

"Breitbart’s defense of Trump has so far helped keep the Russia scandal from gaining traction on the right. But," writes Vanity Fair's Gabriel Sherman, "that could swiftly change if Trump, under the influence of ['globalists' Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Gary Cohn and the 'hawk' H.R. McMaster], deviates too far from the positions he ran on. If that happens, said one high-level Breitbart staffer, 'We’re prepared to help Paul Ryan rally votes for impeachment.'"

Let the rallying begin.

Later today the president — partially under the influence of National Security Adviser McMaster — will renege on his "America First" pledge of "a speedy withdrawal" from Afghanistan. "Why should we keep wasting our money — rebuild the U.S.!" tweeted Trump in 2013. Throughout the presidential campaign, he similarly demagogued the quagmire as an Obama transgression against American interests. Now Trump is expected "to open the door to the deployment of several thousand troops" in Afghanistan — again, in part because of McMaster's advice.

Bannon's "war" against the national security adviser was already on prominent display in the latest edition of Breitbart's agitprop. One piece wails that "a source with direct knowledge of these matters tells Breitbart News that the senior staff at the White House, including National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, did not brief President Donald Trump on the collision the Navy destroyer USS John McCain had with an oil tanker near Singapore before he originally seemingly dismissed the incident saying, 'that’s too bad.'"

In another piece, Breitbart hilariously shrieks that "a book on terrorism [Militant Islamist Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat] endorsed and touted by H.R. McMaster, the embattled White House National Security Adviser, calls on the U.S. military to respond to any 'desecrations' of the Quran by service members with an apology ceremony, and advocates kissing a new copy of the Quran before presenting the Islamic text to the local Muslim public." Adds Breibart: "McMaster provided a glowing blurb for the book jacket."

Bannon's war on McMaster has been, so far, only an indirect assault on Trump. The assault will transmute directly, however, as long as Trump retains McMaster, as well as other "globalists" and "hawks." For in Bannon's eyes, he and his propaganda rag "have a duty to the country to be the vanguard of 'The Movement.'"

Will — can — Trump permit the perception that he's being pushed around by the Movement's self-proclaimed leader? Will he cut McMaster & Friends lose and thereby allow that Bannon is effectively in charge? It is difficult to imagine Trump's ego bowing to such transparent pressure. Nobody tells the Donald what to do.

Hence what becomes rather easily imaginable is the fruition of Bannon & Breitbart's "preparation" — that of "help[ing] Paul Ryan rally votes for impeachment."

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Bannon vs. Trump: Oh, what a beautiful war

This is the kind of reporting that makes one's day:

"Breitbart’s defense of Trump has so far helped keep the Russia scandal from gaining traction on the right. But," writes Vanity Fair's Gabriel Sherman, "that could swiftly change if Trump, under the influence of ['globalists' Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Gary Cohn and the 'hawk' H.R. McMaster], deviates too far from the positions he ran on. If that happens, said one high-level Breitbart staffer, 'We’re prepared to help Paul Ryan rally votes for impeachment.'"

Let the rallying begin.

Later today the president — partially under the influence of National Security Adviser McMaster — will renege on his "America First" pledge of "a speedy withdrawal" from Afghanistan. "Why should we keep wasting our money — rebuild the U.S.!" tweeted Trump in 2013. Throughout the presidential campaign, he similarly demagogued the quagmire as an Obama transgression against American interests. Now Trump is expected "to open the door to the deployment of several thousand troops" in Afghanistan — again, in part because of McMaster's advice.

Bannon's "war" against the national security adviser was already on prominent display in the latest edition of Breitbart's agitprop. One piece wails that "a source with direct knowledge of these matters tells Breitbart News that the senior staff at the White House, including National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, did not brief President Donald Trump on the collision the Navy destroyer USS John McCain had with an oil tanker near Singapore before he originally seemingly dismissed the incident saying, 'that’s too bad.'"

In another piece, Breitbart hilariously shrieks that "a book on terrorism [Militant Islamist Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat] endorsed and touted by H.R. McMaster, the embattled White House National Security Adviser, calls on the U.S. military to respond to any 'desecrations' of the Quran by service members with an apology ceremony, and advocates kissing a new copy of the Quran before presenting the Islamic text to the local Muslim public." Adds Breibart: "McMaster provided a glowing blurb for the book jacket."

Bannon's war on McMaster has been, so far, only an indirect assault on Trump. The assault will transmute directly, however, as long as Trump retains McMaster, as well as other "globalists" and "hawks." For in Bannon's eyes, he and his propaganda rag "have a duty to the country to be the vanguard of 'The Movement.'"

Will — can — Trump permit the perception that he's being pushed around by the Movement's self-proclaimed leader? Will he cut McMaster & Friends lose and thereby allow that Bannon is effectively in charge? It is difficult to imagine Trump's ego bowing to such transparent pressure. Nobody tells the Donald what to do.

Hence what becomes rather easily imaginable is the fruition of Bannon & Breitbart's "preparation" — that of "help[ing] Paul Ryan rally votes for impeachment."